The Little Rudie That Couldn't
by The Lotus
Summary: Chapter 5!! Dreg resorts to drastic measures....
1. Noise Problems

(A/N: Unfortunately, I can't think of any witty headliners to open up my new fic. Now now, I know you're disappointed, but try to compose yourself. And read. And then review. Uh…yeah. Oh, and no, this is not the rudie version of me! I AM VERY LUCKY! Just read and you'll understand)  
  
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Freedom. That's how I'd describe it. Pure, unbridled, undistilled, freedom. You will never know the adrenaline rush that comes from skating. Unless you experience it for yourself.  
  
Luckless. That's how I'd describe myself. You can call me Dreg. The clumsiest rudie that ever lived. Now, I'm not saying I suck. Well, at least I don't think I do. I can grind, wallride, tag. All those things that rudies do. But it seems that whenever I try to get into a gang, I choke. But hopefully, that would all change, when I challenged the Noise Tanks. I was to meet them at the abandoned train graveyard adjacent to Benten square. I leapt up onto the oddly placed pink and white concrete ramp, grinding up to the top and jumping off onto a rail. I rode it all the way to the green fence, and hopped onto the train tracks. Skating down them, I quickly changed sides to avoid an oncoming train, and soon saw the dim outlines of the dead locomotives. I stopped between two of them, glancing around me. This place was creepy…..didn't help that it was about 30 degrees, either.  
  
"I see you showed up, Dreg." My head snapped around, looking up at the source. There stood the Noise Tank leader, Beta, looking down at me from atop a train skeleton. "And on time too. Well, are you ready to start?"  
  
I nodded wordlessly, letting out a quiet sigh. Don't screw up, I told myself Don't you dare screw this up.  
  
"Let's begin," was all he said. Leaping off the train, he grinded along the tracks, making his way towards where I had just come from. He practically dove off the steel bars, pulling a perfect last-second backflip and landing on the neon-lit rail and grinding toward the small octagonal platform. Easy, I thought. Until he jumped off of it and landed on the opposite rail, grinding down it towards the collapsible plastic sign. And when he hopped off of that and wallrode down to the pedestrian-strewn ground around him, I was feeling more than a bit nervous.  
  
"Now," his voice crackled through the small device on my wrist, "see if you can match that."  
  
I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. I realized I was shaking. No way I could do that. But I had to. It was the only way.  
  
"Hurry it up, Dreg. We aint got all night." One of the other Noise Tanks, Data, called down to me.  
  
I took one more deep breath, before dashing forward and jumping, landing in an X grind on the tracks. Blue and green sparks flew as my skates dragged along the metal bars. I watched impatiently as I glided toward the fence door. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.  
  
Then, finally, it was right beside me. I leapt through the opening, landing a bit awkwardly on the lit-up rail ahead of me, Soul grinding toward the platform. With a quick hop, I had made it to the opposite rail. I was going to make it. I would finally be in a gang. This was it. All I had to do now was…  
  
CRASH  
  
I landed in a heap on the other side of the sign, pieces of plastic strewn around me. No. No, this wasn't real. I had….failed? How? How could I be so stupid? After all that, to crash through the damn sign?  
  
"Heh," I recognized Beta's voice immediately as it came through my wrist comm., "Well, Dreg, it would appear that you have failed. You will not be a Noise Tank. Unless….."  
  
I lifted my head, eyes suddenly brighter. "Unless…?"  
  
"Get down here."  
  
I hoisted myself off the ground, brushing shards of plastic from my clothes and hair. I hadn't totally lost my chance. I had one more opportunity. And this one I wouldn't screw up. I hope. As I made my way down, I saw that the three Noise Tanks were standing below, staring up at me.  
  
"Well, are you ready for your final test?" Something about Beta's voice….  
  
"Yes."  
  
Something came up from behind their backs….painting arms….in each of them they held a can of spray paint. "Tag us." He said.  
  
"I….I don't have any paint."  
  
"That," Gamma said evilly, "is the point."  
  
They started closing in on me, surrounding me, shaking their cans in unison. "Tag or be tagged, Dreg."  
  
Then I felt it. A cool, wet breeze against my back. I had been tagged. I didn't wait for them to do it again. I took off, skates pounding against concrete as I fought to go harder, to use every ounce of speed I had. I would not be ten-tagged.  
  
"Come back," I heard Data yell to me mockingly, "We won't hurt you that much!"  
  
I jumped up, catching onto the huge ramp and grinding up it. They were right behind me. I winced as I felt another flash of wetness on my back. That was two.  
  
Leaping, I caught the rail adjacent to the ramp, sailing toward the cracked entrance to the rooftops of Benten. One more small hop and my feet hit solid ground. I was dashing again, dashing for all I was worth, turning and twisting towards the residential district of Benten. Once again, I felt it. Three.  
  
I began to feel fatigue setting in as I jumped one last time, crashing through another thin plastic sign. I was in. I ducked into a nearby alleyway, hiding behind a dumpster. I didn't hear them go past. All I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. I had failed. Again. And now I had the Benten-Cho Noise Tanks after me. My clothes were stained, I was sweating, and I was once again without a gang. I leaned back against the cold steel of the dumpster, closed my eyes, and drifted off into sleep….. 


	2. Dreg Jams Out

Again. It happened again. The Underlords. Failed. Riot Case. Missed. Tag Machine. Shot. Noise Tanks. Crashed.   
  
"Why me?" I asked, gazing up at the starry Benten sky, "Why, of all people, did I have to be cursed with this....this shitty luck? Haven't you put me through enough? Haven't I suffered through more than anyone should?" I was yelling now, breathing through gritted teeth, tears welling up in my eyes. Tears of rage, of fear, of loneliness.... "You took everything from me, and still you won't let go. You won't let me live my life in peace! Why do you not just kill me now? Kill me now, and get it over with!" I waited there, glaring up at the twilight, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps. "Hmph......just as I thought."  
  
My back hurt. A lot. But I guess that's what you get for sleeping up against a dumpster. I smelled paint. Damn Noise Tanks. I'd have to get a new shirt now. I climbed to my feet slowly, grabbing on to the lip of the dumpster for support. I skated to the edge of the alley, peeking around the corners. All clear. I made my way down the sidewalk, ignoring the random curses and shouts from the pedestrians. Next stop, Kogane-Cho and Poison Jam.  
  
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Beta sat, squinting at the monitor in front of him, hitting keys at breakneck speed. Mostly the BACK button.  
  
"Damnit, Beta, how many times do I have to tell you," Data scolded, "Get some damn glasses."  
  
"Shut up!" he shot back irritably, "I'm working. And I already told you, I don't need glasses."  
  
Data skulked away, mumbling something about too much polymorphine being bad for your eyesight. (A/N: ::giggle, snort::)  
  
"Ha! Finally!" Gamma grinned triumphantly, the light from the computer casting a pale blue reflection off her face, "I got a signal from that tracer we put on Dreg! He's leaving Benten."  
  
"Excellent," Beta stood, looking over Gamma's shoulder. "Where's he headed?"  
  
"Looks like Kogane-Cho." she focused on the screen, watching the small red blip move slowly across the map.  
  
"Good..........."  
  
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Lost again. Figures. "Excuse me, sir?" I yelled over to an elderly Japanese man sweeping off his front porch. I started to skate over to him, but didn't make it 2 feet before he had bolted inside of his house. I heard about seven locks click.   
  
The good news was, I was out of Benten. That I was sure of, because there was actually a sun here. Well, sunset anyway. Hmmmm....was it Shibuya or Kogane that was sunset? Ah, who cares. At least now those psycho Noise Tanks couldn't get me.......  
  
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`  
  
Finally. A recognizable feature. Never in my life had I been so happy to see Poison Jam graffiti. After three hours of aimless skating, that scary-ass clown face made me ecstatic. Now to find Poison Jam....  
  
"Hraar! Hraarr!" a voice boomed from above me. Well, that was easy.  
  
I looked up to see the sewer-friendly powerhouses glaring down at me, cans of spraypaint in their claws. It looked as if I'd have a repeat of last night. "Poison Jammers," I called up to them, "I've come to join you. IF you can beat me in a race."  
  
The leader grinned down at me. He was missing about 4 teeth. "Agreed," he said, "I am Mortis. You and me, noholdbar race from here to sewer. First to tag winner. If you win, you Poison Jam. But you lose," here his dumb grin turned to malicious," and you Poison Jam chase toy."  
  
I suppressed a groan, still staring up at them smugly. "I won't lose."  
  
"See that you don't. Follow us."  
  
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I'm not a big guy. Not small, but not big. Maybe about 5'9. It had been a long time since I'd measured myself. I couldn't be more than 150 pounds, but when I was up close and personal with the Jammers, I could see that every one of them were around 200, easy. I knew what Mortis meant by "noholdbar". I had to be careful.   
  
"ON MARK!" one of the others yelled.  
  
"SET GET!"  
  
"GO!"  
  
I took off, speeding through not-so-crowded streets of Kogane. I could hear Mortis behind me. Pretty fast for a big guy. As I raced past kids, kats and dawgs  
(A/N: ::cough:: sorry Disk, had to do it), I started to hear him more clearly. He was gaining. I poured all my energy into my feet, dashing for dear life. I was tired already, and we were only about a quarter of the way there. If he caught up with me, I was gone.   
~~  
I had a killer stitch in my side, my legs were numb, and sweat was dripping into my eyes. But I had finally reached the entrance to the sewer, and Mortis was far behind me. I saw the tagging area. A long, blueish-greenish panel that stood on the opposite side of where I was. I hopped onto a nearby rail, and began grinding my way to victory. I began imagining how my life would be different with a gang, albeit smellier. I was so lost in my daydreams that I didn't see the Noise Tank painting arm clothesline me off the rail, sending me crashing into the water below.....  
  
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Beta watched smugly as Dreg's body hurtled into the sewage. He moved his painting arm horizontally along his waist, bowing to his sniggering comrades. "Too easy.....now one of you go fish him out."  
  
Gamma and Data looked at each other dubiously. "Megabyte, Gigabyte, Virus?" Gamma asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The two stood huddled together for a few seconds, each throwing a different hand signal. In the end, Data got stuck with it.   
  
"Terrific," he muttered, slipping off his skates before diving into the sewage. It was a couple of minutes before he came up again. "I can't see him!"  
  
Beta quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Did you use your goggles?"  
  
"Of course. I swear, unless he can turn invisible, he aint here. The only other explanation is...."  
  
In unison, the three Noise Tanks looked toward the open sewer grate. "Son of a...." Beta trailed off, eyes narrowing in anger.   
  
"HRAAR!"   
  
Slowly, the Benten rudies turned to face three irate Poison Jammers. "Noise Tanks in base! Noise Tanks must pay!" Mortis roared.  
  
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	3. Bus Terminal Challenge

(A/N: Hey all. CHAPTER 3!! YAY! Nik, to answer your question, Megabyte Gigabyte Virus is like a Noise Tank version of Paper Rock Scissors. And, in reply to "where's Dreg?", well, just read.....)  
  
I couldn't breathe. It felt as if that painting arm had crushed my windpipe. I was seeing Road Runners and Tweety Birds as I plunged into the water below. Now I was cold and suffocating. I had no energy, just simply let the water sweep me away. The eternal blue before my eyes slowly turned hazy....then faded to black.....  
  
~~  
  
I awoke to three small children staring down at me. One was poking me with a stick.   
  
"Get out of here!" I yelled weakly at them, but it was enough. They turned and ran back, bolting up the steps. I didn't get up for a long time. Just lay there and watch the forever-fading, yet never-disappearing Kogane sun. Only one gang left. Last I heard they set up shop in Shibuya. Called themselves the GGs. My last chance. It was all I could think of. I got moving when the thought struck me that now both the Noise Tanks and Poison Jam were after me. Climbing slowly to my feet, I began trudging up the steps. This was shaping up to be one hell of a day.....  
  
~~  
  
Who was I kidding? I couldn't skate off to two different places and challenge two different gangs all in one day. I had to stop. I had to rest. I had to eat....  
  
Finally, I found something I could work with. One of those little food vendors with the pushalong carts. He was screaming something to people passing by. As I got closer, I discovered it was something called a "Hot Dog". I didn't know what it was, but it smelled damn good. I skated up behind another person, a man in a black suit, haggling over the price of one of those hot dog thingies. At long last, the vendor handed over what looked like a small tube of meat on a bun. Oh well, better than nothing. I appproached the cart, looking skeptically at the product. "I'll take one of those Hot things."  
  
"You mean Hot Dog?" he asked.   
  
"Yeah, whatever. Just gimme one."  
  
He shot a look at me, but picked up one of the meat tubes and placed it on the buns, handing it over to me. "400 yen."  
  
"AHHH! Look! It's Poison Jam!" I pointed quickly behind him. "Here they come?"  
  
The man looked at me skeptically, his eyes narrowing. "400 yen."  
  
I sighed, digging around in my pockets, and eventually producing 400 yen in coins, exchanging them for the Hot Dog. I skated away, stuffing it in my mouth and grumbling. That trick usually worked....  
  
Once I had downed the greasy meat, I began searching alleyways. It was starting to get cold and I was damn tired. At last I found a suitable alley, strewn with holey blankets. They smelled funny, but they'd have to do. I slipped off my still soggy skates and pulled my shirt off over my head. I smelled like moldy foot. With that depressing thought on my mind, I laid my head against a folded up blanket and fell into sleep.  
  
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I woke up the next morning, a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Damn Hot thing.  
I pulled on my skates groggily, put on my shirt, got up and began skating towards Shibuya.....  
  
I would say that it was nightfall by the time I reached the Shibuya district, but that would've been a lie. I had reached the city of eternal sunlight. The city of my last chance for a gang. Fortunately, finding the GGs didn't take too long. I decided to do a bit of exploring, and found a nice halfpipe. I practiced a few tricks, before noticing that there was more of it. I followed it down, skating until I found another set of stairs and a dead end. I took the only choice, and made my way up the steps. Before I reached the top, I heard a few people....girls....talking. I knew before I saw them that they weren't just normal people. They were rudies. I had heard that the GGs had the most members of any gang in Tokyo. No uniforms either, this gang represented individuality. They could have ruled the whole city had they chosen to. I was suddenly somehow glad that I had failed all those other tests....this was definitely the gang for me. As I reached the apex of the stairs, my face fell.   
  
There was no way these were the GGs. Three girls all wearing pink and black? He would've written it off as just three metalheads until he saw their skates....who were they?  
  
"Well wouldja look at this," one of them called over to me, "a lost rudie. Don't ya know you're on Love Shocker turf?"  
  
I quirked my head at them, confusion setting in. "I thought this was GG turf."  
  
"Well, sorry to disappoint, pig, but the GGs are no match for us!'"  
  
From behind us, a voice rang out. "Ladies ladies ladies! I thought we made it clear that you should go cry about your heartbreaks elsewhere!"  
  
I turned to see a rudie, about as tall as me, dressed in a blue jumpsuit, a beanie pulled down over his eyes.   
  
The Love Shockers pushed past me and made their way toward him. I saw rage in their eyes. "We're gonna finish you off, GG scum!"  
  
"Now, now, ladies, you should calm down. Or is it that time of month? Anyway, before you try anything, you should probably look behind you." He pointed behind them.  
  
I turned to look, following the Love Shocker's gaze. I saw about five other rudies, all looking in my general direction, and all shaking spray cans.   
  
"I think it's time we broke their hearts for good y'all." A rudie with a green pullover sweater said, "What do ya say?"  
  
The rudies began to close in on the Love Shockers, surrounding them....and me, circling around us, their spray cans clacking in unison.  
  
"What about him?" a girl in a blue dress asked, gesturing to me, "Should we get him too? He doesen't look like a Love Shocker." she giggled, "he isn't a girl, after all...."  
  
"I came to challenge you," I said, "but I got held up," I gestured to the Love Shockers before skating back out of the circle, stopping near a bus. "I can wait."  
  
The girl in the blue dress smirked, gesturing to another girl rudie, with black hair, black lipstick and black clothing. "Yo Cube! You wanna handle the test?"  
  
"Sure thing," she replied, tossing her spray can over to the girl and skating slowly over to me.  
  
The remaining GGs and the Love Shockers seemed to be talking for the next few minutes, which consisted mostly of the helpless Love Shockers shouting insults at the GGs. Finally, the Shockers took off towards the halfpipe, pushing past the guy in the blue jumpsuit. Fortunately, the GGs were right behind him  
  
"So," I said, turning to face the black-clad GG, "what's the test?"  
  
She took a few minutes to look around, before casting a grin at me. "Try this!" and with that, she took off, dashing towards the walkways. She leapt up onto the rail and grinded up it, hitting a left at the top. She hopped over the small gap, and did it once more, now grinding down towards Greenrails. She executed a perfect 360 Method and landed on the Greenrail, then hopped over the small space and grinded to the end, leaping off and pulling a Tailgrab Backflip. She shot a grin down at me.  
  
I looked at the walkway in front of me, as if staring it down. You won't defeat me. I've worked too hard for this. I'm going to seize this opportunity, and you can't stop me. See that girl over there? She's in the GGs. And after this....so am I.  
  
~~ 


	4. A Monster

(A/N: Nik, I'd like to say that M, G, V was just a dumb thing I put in to better suit the Noise Tanks, so I haven't the slightest clue. Sorry....)  
  
~~  
  
Ya know, it's weird what people will remember. They may not remember their first day of school, or their first crush, or even the first time they threw on a pair of skates, but it's always those little things.....those little, insignificant unimportant details that have no effect whatsoever......but you remember them. That's how this test was.   
  
I hopped up onto the guardrail, momentum carrying me upward. I cut to the left at the top, jumping over the first gap. I'm not sure where I landed.....  
  
This was the detail I should've noticed. Should've paid more attention to. That blinking light. That small, flashing green light. But no. I wrote it off as a figment of my imagination. An urban mirage. The word "bomb" never even crossed my mind. Until I heard the explosion.   
  
After it went off, it was as if everything was going in slow motion. I rose up into the air like a huge helium balloon. Then my eyes seemed to flash, like looking into a camera when it goes off. or staring into the sun. And I was home.  
  
I saw a woman I hadn't seen for many years. The woman who brought me into this world. She was yelling at me. Telling me to quiet down. Go to sleep. I was hiding under the blankets. She had marched straight up to my bed, ripped the comforter off, and grabbed me by the collar. She was yelling at me again. Telling me that she couldn't take it anymore. What was wrong with me? Couldn't I see that I was driving her insane. I didn't see it, but I sure as hell felt it. A huge fist trying to get through my face. She didn't of course, but it sure felt like she did.   
  
When I woke up, she was gone. Her room was empty, and her dresser had been cleaned out. My sister's room was the same way. Now I was truly alone.   
  
A few more random memories flickered across my head as I floated there, suspended in the sky. Fire blazed and jumped all around me, engulfing me. I was falling now. And it wasn't in slow motion anymore.  
  
~~  
  
Beta watched as the girl GG sailed over his Motebomb, pondering on whether or not to use it now, trying to decide who he hated more. Ultimately, he waited, sparing her life for now. She was of little importance right now, and Dreg was proving too lucky, escaping from his grasp twice. Finally, the girl finished her run, and signalled over to Dreg to try. It was a few minutes before he actually tried. Beta waited patiently, watching until the kid grinded right over the little bomb. Then Beta hit a button. Explosions rocked the Shibuya-Cho bus terminal, nearly flooring the Noise Tank. He stayed only to see Dreg's limp body hit the pavement. He turned, and began skating back to Benten. He was finally even.....  
  
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I awoke to.....well, I didn't wake up for a long time, I was certain of that, but when I did, I saw a smiling nurse standing over me. She was an older woman, in her forties, who couldn't have been more than five foot. She was holding a needle in her hand. I hate needles. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that greeted my ears was a low, breathy moan.  
  
"Don't try to speak," she said. She had an english accent. "You need your rest. Here. This will help."   
  
She bent over me, and I felt a sharp pain in my arm. I tried to pull away, but found I couldn't even move. My vision began to blur. Damn, that stuff was fast....what had happened....to...me....?  
  
~~  
  
When I woke again, the nurse wasn't there anymore. I closed my eyes again, but sleep wouldn't come. I lay there for what seemed like hours. I heard footsteps. Two people were coming. I heard a doctor's voice.  
  
".....second degree burns to his legs, arms, neck and face, seven cracked ribs, and a slight fracture to his skull. He should be healed in a few months....any word from the girl who brought him in?"  
  
"No, doctor. Noone has seen her since she left him here."  
  
I waited while they rattled on about statistics and numbers, insurance and ID, until I heard the footsteps begin again, trailing away from me until I could hear them no more. I was alone. Months? I was going to be here for months? Well screw that. I summoned up my energy, breathing through gritted teeth. There was no way I would stay in here any longer. I jerked myself up to a sitting position, grabbing onto the bedsheet beside me. Hey....that wasn't so bad. Then it hit me. The pain. Holy shit, the pain. Blinding pain, consuming me. I was being burned alive. I didn't feel myself hit the bed again. My entire body was numb. Maybe a few months wasn't so bad after all......  
  
~~  
  
It's hard to describe to you what happened over that period of time. I woke frequently, was given drugs even more often, and slept most of all. It felt like I was getting stronger every day, and tried not to think about what happened to me. What I looked like, if I would ever be able to skate again....who did this to me.   
  
Then at last my day came. The nurse had opened a nearby window for me, and went on her lunch break. I knew an opportunity when I saw one, and I wouldn't pass this up. I grabbed the two rails on the sides of my bed, pulling myself up. This wasn't bad. The pain I felt was nowhere near what it was last time. It felt as if someone was prodding me all over with tiny, flaming pins. It sounds funny, but it hurt. A lot.  
  
I looked down at my legs in horror. No longer were they tan, but now a sort of charred red and black, with burn marks up and down them. I glanced timidly over at each of my arms only to see that they looked identical to my legs. I carefully lowered my legs down to the bleached tile of the hospital, and stood. Surprisingly, I could walk pretty well. I made my way to the open window, hoisting myself up and climbing out, a section at a time. It took about twenty minutes, but I got through it. My feet hit grass, and for the first time in months, I felt sunlight. And it was good.  
  
I straggled along the streets of Shibuya, ignoring the awestruck stares from the pedestrians, and the cries of the children. Bastards. I decided I had to see for myself. I crossed the busy street to a parking lot, making my way over to a nearby car. I worked up my courage, and looked into the tinted glass.   
  
What I saw was horrifying. I couldn't even recognize myself. My entire face had burn marks and pocks in them, making it look like a huge hunk of swiss cheese. My hair and eyebrows had been completely burned away, and my chin had been fused with my lower lip. I was no longer Dreg. I was a monster...... 


	5. A Desperate Deal

A/N: First of all, since I forgot to do so in past chapters, thanks go to NoiseTank13 and Tallulah for letting me use their NT chars. GRAZI!)  
  
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I was stunned. Too stunned to speak. I stood there, staring at my Elephant Man reflection for easily over an hour. I reached a hand up, but pulled it back immediately, too afraid to touch my own face. This couldn't be. I was a monster.....a freak.   
  
What would I do now? How could I live my life with the awestruck stares of small children, with people whispering about me behind my back? With the sickened looks I'd receive? How? I spun around clumsily, stumbling on towards who-knows-where. I didn't care where I was going.....just as long as it was away from people.   
  
I eventually found my way into yet another alley. These small havens had proven to be my sanctuaries in life, and I hoped this one wouldn't fail me. As I straggled my way to the back, I saw only a brick wall, a few garbage cans, and a rusted steel door. I fell to my knees, twisting my body around and landing on my back. My head slammed against the ground, and I felt a sharp pain.....it was probably bleeding, but I didn't care. I simply looked up at the sunlit sky above me. Through it all, I found myself smiling.   
  
"So," I said, "You win after all." At least my voice was still the same.....I think. I hadn't heard myself in a while. "No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, you managed to take away every shred of hope I had. You couldn't stop at leaving me without a family. You couldn't stop at keeping me a gangless rudie. You had to leave me without a face....without an identity. YOU LEFT ME WITHOUT A LIFE!" I lifted a hand, placing it on the bumpy concrete near my head. I lifted it, seeing my hand was now dripping with thick red liquid. "This. This is how I'll let it end. A simple concussion....loss of blood. But I will be free. Whether it be heaven or hell, I'll be free. You should've let me die at the bus terminal. But why pass up a chance to prolong my suffering?"  
  
I closed my eyes, looking for that bright light to begin running to, when I heard a voice. Thin and raspy, like and old man combined with a snake. "That iss not the ansswer, Dreg."  
  
I kept my eyes shut tight, writing it off as insanity....the brain's desperate plee for salvation moments before death....I wouldn't listen to it.   
  
"I'm not jusst in your head, Dreg. I can give you power. The power to avenge what happened to you. The power to change you back....to the way you were before."  
  
My eyes shot open, and I climbed to my feet as fast as I could. My hand immediately went to the back of my head. I looked at it. No blood.  
  
"Don't act sso ssurprised. You had to be willing to live for me to ssave your life."  
  
"Who are you?" I demanded, looking around. The alley was completely empty. "What do you want?" Stereotypical questions of a clueless kid.  
  
"Someone who knows opportunity when he sees it. In fact, we're very alike, you and I. We don't passs up a good opportunity. And that'ss why I'm here. If you do ssomething for me."  
  
"And that would be...?"  
  
"I want you to retrieve a certain....record. It's called the Devil'ss Contract."  
  
Devil's Contract. Where had I heard that before?   
  
"Goji Rokkaku was in posssesssion of it before. The fool didn't know how to usse it, and perisshed thankss to a gang of rudiess."  
  
"What exactly does this 'record' thing do?"  
  
"That iss none of your concern. Just retrieve it, and I will grant you the thingss that you dessire most. A gang. A ssensse of belonging. The feeling that people need and rely on you. And, of course, your old face....how it looked before the explosion."  
  
I couldn't believe it. It was almost too good to be true. Which, in my experience, meant it probably was. "So why don't you just get this record thing yourself?"   
  
"Well, if you prefer I do that, and you want to sstay a ganglesss freak..." he trailed off. He knew I'd bite.  
  
"No, no. I'll do it. But I want my payment now. I want a gang....and I want my face."  
  
"I believe that can be arranged. Sstep into my office...."  
  
The ground beneath me began to shake, tremmoring below my feet. Suddenly, a rift, about three feet long, split through the ground, widening to about twelve feet around. A stone platform rose up, resting just below the surface. I hesitated for about two seconds, before stepping onto it. I stared straight ahead of me, trying to pretend that I wasn't freaked out, that I wasn't ready to hop off and run as far away as I could. But I couldn't. A gang.....a face....an identity. To be able to be someone. Those things kept me on. I'd do anything for them. Find a stupid record? Sure.  
  
The platform began to shiver below me, and it slowly lowered. All around me, as far as the eye could see, there was fire, blazing, leaping, consuming......I felt the flames lick at me, taunting me. But I wasn't afraid. I wouldn't let myself. 'You won't ruin this too,' I thought to myself.   
  
The stone platform finally came to a stop on what looked like a path, jagged rocks lining the sides. Beyond that....lava.   
  
"Come now," a voice beckoned me, "Don't be shy."   
  
I started to walk down the path, my entire body shaking, telling me that his rewards were inadequate. That they weren't worth what he had in store for me. My body was wrong. One foot in front of the other, Dreg, one foot in front of the other. I stared down at my feet as if they were ready to betray me, ready to run back to that stone platform and go back to the real world. I wouldn't let them.  
  
When I finally did look up, I was amazed at what I saw. He was huge, no less than nine feet tall. His skin was jet black, and long, swirling horns had replaced hair. His eyes were pure red, and his teeth were all sharpened, making a mouth full of fangs. He wore all red, and he was smiling at me.  
  
"Welcome, Dreg."  
  
I stood speechless, gazing up at him in awe.   
  
"As I said before," he boomed, "I will return you to how you looked before the....incident, and I shall give you your own gang.....but theres one more thing I'd be willing to give you. How'd you like to know who made you a freak....a carnival sideshow.....I can tell you. And all you have to do is get me that record."  
  
My eyes widened in pure, vengeful delight. I bowed my head, revenge still dancing in my head. "It's as good as yours. I would give my very soul to get even with whoever did this to me."  
  
"Good."  
  
Flames leapt up from the sides of the path, gathering all around me, circling me like a pack of hungry wolves. Slowly, they began to close in on me, closer, closer.....now they were up against my skin. I braced myself for death, asking myself why I didn't accept my fate before, but I felt nothing. The fire may very well have been air.  
  
When they finally pulled away, I was gasping for breath. What had happened? "What'd you do to me?" I asked.  
  
"It is done"  
  
A blinding flash filled my vision. When it cleared, I was back in the real world. In the middle of a Shibuya street. Cars were stopped, beeping all around me. I looked down at myself. I was wearing a crimson red jumpsuit, white flames at the bottoms of the legs and sleeves. My hands went up to my face, feeling smooth skin, no lumps or pocks....just smooth skin. Looking behind me, I saw nine others standing behind me, heads bowed. Among them, a huge, stocky man who looked like he belonged in football, a woman with long dark hair, and another, standing away from everyone, arms crossed, solid as a rock.   
  
"I give you the Inferno Jets. You will get revenge on them. And they will help you...."  
  
"Who? Who is 'them'?" I asked.  
  
"The gangs. All of them. Poison Jam, Noise Tanks, Love Shockers, GGs. All of them. They were all in it from the start, trying to destroy you. While they may have succeeded in destroying Dreg, they will never destroy you......Dante."  
  
And deep down inside me, something snapped. That voice....it spoke of things that couldn't be real. Surely all of the gangs wouldn't conspire against me. And yet....it spoke the truth. It always had, and would always be, right. Those rudies....they must all suffer. And I would be the one to make it happen. "Yes, master," I heard myself say. I was lost. I was found. I had been the little rudie that couldn't. But now I had power. And it felt good.....  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
(A/N: Biggety Bam, it's done. Shocked, huh? Well, if you aren't, you obviously haven't read my other fic, The Devil's Contract, so go and read it now. Done? Good. NOW you're shocked. HA! Well, this concludes another short fic. Or does it....?)  



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